DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR-U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

GEORGE  OTIS  SMITH,  Director 


THE  PRODUCTION  OF 

FLUORSPAR  AND  CRYOLITE 

IN  1909 


By  ERNEST  F.  BTJRCHARD 


ADVANCE  CHAPTER  FROM  MINERAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
CALENDAR  YEAR  1909 


WASHINGTON 

GQVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 

1911 


CONTENTS. 


Fluorspar 

Production 

Increased  uses 

New  developments. 

Kentucky 

Illinois 

Colorado 

New  Mexico... 

Imports 

Cryolite 

Imports  and  prices. 
Literature 

2 


Page. 


» 


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(4  FLUORSPAR  AND  CRYOLITE. 




By  Ernest  F.  Burchard. 


FLUORSPAR. 

PRODUCTION. 

The  total  quantity  of  domestic  fluorspar  reported  to  the  Survey  as 
marketed  in  the  United  States  in  1909  was  50,742  short  tons,  valued 
at  $291,747,  as  compared  with  38,785  short  tons,  valued  at  $225,998, 
produced  in  1908. 

Three  States,  Colorado,  Illinois,  and  Kentucky,  and  the  Territories, 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  produced  fluorspar  in  the  year  1909,  New 
Mexico  having  reported  a production  for  the  first  time.  The  pro- 
duction in  Colorado  decreased;  that  of  Illinois  and  Kentucky  showed  an 
increase.  Colorado  produced  gravel  spar,  New  Mexico  lump  andgravel, 
and  Arizona  marketed  lump  spar.  The  total  quantity  produced  in  these 
States  was  1,090  short  tons,  valued  at  $6,263,  an  average  price  of  $5.75 
per  ton.  With  reference  to  the  Colorado  and  New  Mexico  product,  it 
should  be  stated  that  the  value  reported  to  the  Survey  represents  the 
value  on  board  cars  at  the  railroad  shipping  points  and  includes  the 
cost  of  a long  wagon  haul — $1.50  to  $3  per  ton.  In  1909  Illinois  pro- 
duced 29,880  short  tons  of  gravel  spar,  valued  at  $135,366,  or  $4.53 
per  short  ton  on  board  cars.  In  this  connection  it  should  be  remarked 
that  the  largest  producing  fluorspar  mines  in  this  State  are  near 
^railroad  or  river  transportation,  therefore  the  cost  of  long  wagon  hauls 
tT"  has  not  entered  into  the  reported  value  of  this  product.  The  sales  of 
lump  spar  in  Illinois  were  4,667  short  tons,  valued  at  $23,625,  or  $5.06 
per  ton.  The  ground  spar  sold  in  this  State  amounted  to  7,305  short 
tons,  valued  at  $73,260,  or  $10.03  per  ton.  Kentuckv  reported  total 
sales  of  7,800  short  tons  of  spar,  valued  at  $53,233,  distributed  asfollows: 
Four  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-five  short  tons  of  gravel 
spar,  valued  at  $25,253,  or  $5.22  per  ton;  336  short  tons  of  lump  spar, 
valued  at  $2,083,  or  $6.20  per  ton,  and  2,629  short  tons  of  ground  spar, 
valued  at  $25,897,  or  $9.85  per  ton.  The  stocks  of  fluorspar  reported 
on  hand  December 31, 1909,  were  asfollows:  Colorado,  10  tons;  Illinois, 
1,504  tons;  and  Kentucky,  10,116  tons,  a total  of  11,630  tons. 

Although  the  fluorspar  industry  recovered  to  some  extent  from  the 
business  depression  that  affected  mining  and  manufactures  so  greatly  in 
1908  it  does  not  appear,  upon  comparison  of  the  total  quantities  sold  in 
each  of  the  last  three  years,  that  the  business  of  the  year  1909  quite  ful- 
filled the  expectations  of  the  majority  of  fluorspar  producers.  Therela- 

77767—11  3 


36440 


4 


MINERAL  RESOURCES. 


tive  curtailment  in  production  is  more  striking  when  viewed  in  relation  • 
to  the  production  of  open-hearth  steel.  It  is  estimated  that  fully  80 
per  cent  of  American  fluorspar,  mainly  in  the  gravel  form,  is  consumed 
in  the  manufacture  of  basic  open-hearth  steel.  The  decrease  in  the  pro- 
duction of  basic  open-hearth  steel  in  1908  as  compared  with  1907  was 
over  30  per  cent,  and  the  decrease  in  the  quantity  of  fluorspar 
marketed  was  nearly  22  per  cent,  but  with  an  increase  in  production 
of  basic  open-hearth  steel  in  1909  of  more  than  86  per  cent  over  that 
of  1908  the  increase  in  the  total  quantity  of  fluorspar  marketed 
amounted  to  only  30.8  per  cent,  although  the  increase  in  gravel  spar 
amounted  to  nearly  44  per  cent.  In  1909  there  were  3,138,157  tons 
more  of  basic  open-hearth  steel  produced  than  in  1907,  an  increase  of 
30.4  per  cent,  yet  in  1909  there  were  only  1,256  tons  more  spar 
marketed,  or  an  increase  of  2\  per  cent.  From  these  figures  it  may  be 
inferred  that  the  domestic  production  of  fluorspar  had  not,  up  to  the 
close  of  1909,  been  materially  affected  by  the  duty  of  $3  per  ton 
imposed  by  the  Payne-Aldrich  bill  on  imported  fluorspar.  Probably 
the  industry  in  1910  will  more  accurately  reflect  the  influence  of  the 
tariff,  since  unusually  large  quantities  of  spar  are  believed  to  have 
been  shipped  to  the  United  States  just  before  the  tariff  went  into 
effect. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  cost  of  gravel  fluorspar  imported 
into  this  country  from  the  English  waste  dumps  of  Derbyshire  lead 
mines,  including  the  import  duty  of  $3,  is  $7.38  to  $7.74  per  ton 
laid  down  at  Pittsburg.  Prior  to  the  passage  of  the  tariff  act  of 
1909  it  sold,  at  Pittsburg  at  $5.85  per  ton.  Domestic  unwashed 
gravel  spar  can  be  sold  at  Pittsburg  for  about  $7,  but  at  Philadelphia 
it  can  not  be  sold  under  $8  or  $9  per  ton,  whereas  the  English  spar, 
inclusive  of  tariff,  costs  $6.04  to  $6.40  per  ton  laid  down  at  that  city. 
Thus  the  American  fluorspar  producers  have  an  advantage  at  most 
of  the  open-hearth  steel  furnaces,  since  few  furnaces  are  sufficiently 
near  Atlantic  ports  to  take  advantage  of  English  importations.  The 
effect  of  English  competition  will  be  felt,  however,  until  the  large 
stock  imported  prior  to  the  enactment  of  the  tariff  is  exhausted  and 
American  producers  are  able  to  meet  the  demand. 

The  following  table  shows  the  fluctuations  in  the  production  of 
open-hearth  steel  in  1907,  1908,  and  1909.  These  fluctuations  have 
an  important  bearing  upon  the  market  for  fluorspar. 


Production  of  open-hearth  steel  in  1907-1909,  in  long  tons.a 


- 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Total. 

1907 ' 

10,279,315 
7, 140, 425 
13,417,472 

1,270,421 
696,304 
. 1,076,464 

11,549,736 

7,836,729 

14,493,936 

1908 

1909 

a Ann.  Statist.  Rept.  Am.  Iron  and  Steel  Association,  Philadelphia,  Pa..  July  25, 1910. 


The  following  table  gives  the  quantities  and  values  of  the  different 
grades  of  fluorspar  marketed  in  the  United  States  in  1908  and  1909: 


FLUORSPAR  AND  CRYOLITE. 


5 


Fluorspar  marketed  in  1908  and  1909,  in  short  tons. 


States. 

Gravel. 

Lump. 

Ground. 

Total 

quan- 

tity. 

Total 

value. 

Quan- 

tity. 

Value. 

Quan- 

tity. 

Value. 

Quan- 

tity. 

Value. 

1908. 

Colorado 

a 735 
21,332 
2,840 

84, 518 
96,315 
14, 226 

735 

31,727 

6,323 

84,518 
172,838 
48, 642 

Illinois 

Kentucky 

Total 

1909. 

Colorado 

6,189 

307 

833,267 

1,828 

4,206 
3, 176 

843,256 
32, 588 

24, 907 

115,059 

6,496 

35, 095 

7,382 

75,844 

38,785 

225,998 

6 1,090 
29, 880 
4, 835 

6,263 
135,366 
25, 253 

1,090 
41,852 
7, 800 

6,263 
232, 251 
53,233 

Illinois 

Kentucky 

Total 

4, 667 
336 

23,625 

2,083 

7,305 

2,629 

73,260 
25, 897 

35, 805 

166,882 

5,003 

25, 708 

9,934 

99,157 

50,742 

291,747 

a Includes  a small  production  of  lump  spar  from  Arizona. 

b Includes  a small  production  of  gravel  spar  from  New  Mexico  and  of  lump  spar  from  Arizona. 


The  annual  production  of  fluorspar  in  the  United  States  since  1883 
is  given  in  the  following  table : 


Production  of  fluorspar  in  the  United  States,  1883-1909,  in  short  tons. 


Years. 


1883. 

1884. 

1885. 

1886. 

1887. 

1888. 

1889. 

1890. 

1891. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

1896. 


Quantity. 

Value. 

Years. 

Quantity. 

Value. 

4,000 

820,000 

1897 

5,062 

837, 159 

4,000 

20,000 

1898 

7,675 

63,050 

5,000 

22,500 

1899 

15,900 

96,650 

5,000 

22, 000 

1900 

18, 450 

94, 500 

5,000 

20, 000 

1901 

19,586 

113,803 

6,000 

30,000 

1902 

48,018 

271,832 

9,500 

45,835 

1903 

42,523 

213, 617 

8,250 

55,328 

1904 

36, 452 

234, 755 

10,044 

78,330 

1905 

57, 385 

362,488 

12,250 

89,000 

1906 

40, 796 

244, 025 

12, 400 

84,000 

1907 

49, 486 

287, 342 

7,500 

47, 500 

1908 

38, 785 

225,998 

4.000 

6,500 

24.000 

52. 000 

1909 

50, 742 

291,747 

INCREASED  USES. 

According  to  Fohs  the  use  of  fluorspar  is  on  the  increase  in  the 
manufacture  of  glass,  enameled  and  sanitary  ware,  electrolytic 
refining  of  antimony  and  lead,  the  production  of  aluminum,  and 
especially  in  the  iron  and  steel  industries,  where  the  value  of  fluorspar 
added  in  small  quantities  to  limestone  flux  is  becoming  more  and  more 
appreciated.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  open-hearth  furnaces,  and 
hence  the  increased  production  of  basic  open-hearth  steel  is  encourag- 
ing, but  in  the  manufacture  of  hydrofluoric  acid  there  was  an  apparent 
falling  off  in  demand  for  fluorspar  in  1909. 

NEW  DEVELOPMENTS. 

Kentucky: a — With  the  prospects  of  a broader  market  and  the 
possibility  of  better  prices  there  was  during  1909  renewed  activity 
among  Kentucky  mining  companies.  The  Nancy  Hanks  shaft  wTas 
sunk  to  340  feet,  finding  the  spar  vein  6 feet  wide  at  that  depth,  with 


a Fohs,  F.  Julius,  Fluorspar:  The  Mineral  Industry  during  1909,  p.  262. 


6 


MINERAL  RESOURCES. 


a 9-foot  shoot  at  the  330-foot  level.  The  Kentucky  Fluorspar  Com- 
pany, the  Indiana  and  Kentucky  Fluorspar  and  Lead  Mining  Com- 
pany, the  Franklin  Mining  Company,  and  other  firms  and  individuals 
reported  the  discovery  and  development  of  several  promising  veins  of 
spar,  ranging  from  6 to  20  feet  wide. 

Illinois .“ — The  Rosiclaire  mine  in  Illinois  was  developed  extensively 
underground  and  the  mill  was  remodeled,  with  the  addition  of  two 
new  Foust  jigs,  and  was  prepared  for  a largely  increased  output  in 
1910.  The  Fairview  Fluorspar  and  Lead  Company  sunk  its  main 
incline  to  a depth  of  520  feet,  and  reports  that  at  the  460-foot  level 
a 20-foot  shoot  of  fluorspar  was  opened,  and  that  the  old  No.  1 shaft 
was  reopened  and  a 20-foot  shoot  was  mined. 

Colorado. — Very  little  new  development  was  done  in  Colorado 
beyond  that  necessary  for  the  assessment  work  on  claims.  Only  a 
comparatively  small  quantity  of  fluorspar  was  produced  in  this  State, 
the  entire  production  coming  from  the  Jamestown  district.  The 
moderate  prices  paid  for  spar  at  present,  in  conjunction  with  the  long 
and  expensive  haul  to  railroads,  make  it  almost  impossible  for  miners 
to  earn  current  wages  mining  fluorspar.  The  opening  of  deposits  in 
southern  New  Mexico,  more  accessible  to  railroad  and  enjoying  a 
favorable  freight  rate  to  the  market  at  Pueblo,  Colo.,  has  been  the 
chief  factor  in  holding  down  the  price  for  fluorspar  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  area  this  year. 

New  Mexico. — Fluorspar  has  long  been  known  to  occur  in  the 
vicinity  of  Silver  City  and  Deming,  N.  Mex.,  but  only  recently  has  it 
been  found  in  sufficient  quantities  for  exploitation.  The  American 
Fireman’s  Mining  Company,  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  in  prospecting  for 
gold  on  properties  situated  9|  miles  northnortheast  of  Deming, 
N.  Mex.,  in  the  foothills  of  Cooks  Range,  has  opened  a number  of 
fluorspar  veins  that  give  promise  of  yielding  nearly  if  not  quite  suffi- 
cient spar  to  supply  the  western  market  for  several  years. 

The  fluorspar  occurs  in  fissure  veins  cutting  altered  diorite  porphyry 
in  close  proximity  to  a mass  of  Ordovician  limestone  and  sandstone 
that  is  intruded  by  and  folded  into  the  porphyry. 

The  veins  range  from  less  than  1 foot  to  more  than  12  feet  in  thick- 
ness, but  generally  from  2 to  4 or  5 feet.  The  veins  strike  a little 
north  of  east,  and  ten  to  twelve  distinct  veins  have  been  opened,  some 
of  which  have  been  worked  for  distances  as  great  as  100  feet,  and  to 
depths  of  10  to  80  feet.  The  spar  is  hauled  by  wagons  6 miles  to 
Mirage,  a station  on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railway, 
and  is  shipped  to  Pueblo,  Colo. 

The  fluorspar  obtainable  here  is  of  high  grade.  It  is  not  subjected 
to  any  mechanical  concentration,  and  the  hand  cobbed  and  sorted 

Sroduct  shipped  in  1909  carried  between  90  and  95  per  cent  calcium 
uoride  (CaF2).  The  spar  brings  $5.25  per  short  ton  f.  o.  b.  cars  at 
Mirage,  based  on  at  least  90  per  cent  CaF2.  According  to  contract 
a penalty  of  20  cents  per  ton  is  deducted  for  each  per  cent  of  CaF2 
that  the  spar  carries  belowT  90  per  cent,  but  no  premium  is  paid  unless 
the  spar  contains  more  than  95  per  cent  CaF2. 


a Fohs,  F.  Julius,  op.  cit. 


FLUORSPAR  AND  CRYOLITE. 


7 


IMPORTS. 

Heretofore  fluorspar  has  been  imported  into  the  United  States  duty 
free,  and  it  has  therefore  been  impossible  to  obtain  the  statistics  of  the 
importations.  Large  quantities  of  gravel  spar  produced  at  a low  cost 
from  the  tailings  of  lead  mines  and  from  the  gob  in  abandoned  mines 
in  England  have  been  shipped  to  this  country  as  ballast  at  a very  low 
freight  rate.  The  material  thus  produced  is  high  in  silica,  and  is 
almost  entirely  consumed  by  open-hearth  steel  makers.  Before  1909 
spar  from  England  has  competed  with  American  fluorspar  as  far  west 
as  Pittsburg  and  practically  fixed  the  market  price  at  that  point.  As 
explained  on  a preceding  page,  conditions  are  now  reversed,  and  a 
decided  decrease  in  the  imports  of  foreign  fluorspar  is  probable. 

The  imports  of  fluorspar  entered  for  consumption  into  the  United 
States  in  1909  were  6,971  short  tons,  valued  at  $26,377,  as  compared 
with  an  estimated  quantity  of  about  20,000  tons  imported  from  Great 
Britain  and  all  other  countries  in  1908. 

CRYOLITE. 

/- 

IMPORTS  AND  PRICES. 

No  cryolite  was  reported  to  have  been  produced  in  the  United  States 
in  1909.  Cryolite  is  aluminum-sodium  fluoride  and  is  used  chiefly  in 
the  manufacture  of  sodium  salts,  of  opal  and  alabaster  glass,  of 
porcelain  and  enameled  ware,  and  as  a flux  in  the  electrolytic  alu- 
minum process.  The  mineral  is  quarried  in  Greenland,  and  1,278 
long  tons,  valued  at  $18,427,  were  imported  into  the  United  States 
in  1909,  as  compared  with  1,124  long  tons,  valued  at  $16,445,  in  1908. 

LITERATURE  ON  FLUORSPAR  AND  CRYOLITE. 

For  details  as  to  occurrence,  geologic  relations,  mining  develop- 
ments, and  notes  on  the  technology  of  the  preparation  and  uses  of 
fluorspar  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  following  papers : 

Bain,  H.  F.  The  fluorspar  deposits  of  southern  Illinois:  Bull.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey- 
No.  255,  1905.®  15c. 

Principal  American  fluorspar  deposits:  Min.  Mag.,  August,  1905,  pp. 115-119. 

Betts,  Anson  G.  The  manufacture  of  hydrofluoric  acid:  Mineral  Industry,  1906, 
pp.  330-332. 

Burchard,  E.  F.  Production  of  fluorspar  and  cryolite  in  1908:  Mineral  Resources 
U.  S.  for  1908,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1909,  pt.  2,  pp.  607-620.® 

Fluorspar  in  Colorado:  Min.  and  Sci.  Press,  August  21,  1909,  pp.  258-260. 

Canby,  H.  S.  The  cryolite  of  Greenland:  Nineteenth  Ann.  Rept.  U.  S.  Geol. 
Survey,  pt.  6 (continued),  1898,  pp.  615-617. 

Egglestone,  William  Morley.  The  occurrence  and  commercial  uses  of  fluor- 
spar: Trans.  Inst.  Min.  Eng.,  vol.  35,  pt.  2,  London,  England,  May,  1908,  pp.  236-268. 

The  Engineer  (London).  Fluorspar:  Issue  of  August  21,  1908,  pp.  185,  187. 

Fohs,  F.  Julius.  Fluorspar  deposits  of  Kentucky,  with  notes  on  production, 
mining,  and  technology  of  the  mineral:  Bull.  Kentucky  Geol.  Survey  No.  9,  1907. 

Kentucky  fluorspar  and  its  value  to  the  iron  and  steel  industries:  Trans. 

Am.  Inst.  Min.  Eng.,  April,  1909,  pp.  411-423.  (For  abstracts  see  also  Mining  World 
June  26,  1909,  pp.  1217-1220,  Iron  Age,  May  27,  1909,  pp.  1692-1693,  and  Mining  and 
Scientific  Press,  June  26,  1909,  pp.  888-890.) 

Fluorspar  grades  and  markets:  Min.  and  Sci.  Press,  Nov.  27,  1909,  pp. 

720-721. 


« Out  of  stock,  but  usually  accessible  in  libraries  of  cities,  technical  schools,  and  universities,  and  for  sale 
by  the  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 


8 


MINERAL  RESOURCES. 


Fohs,  F.  Julius.  The  fluorspar,  lead,  and  zinc  deposits  of  western  Kentucky: 
Econ.  Geology,  June,  1910.  pp.  377-386. 

Miller,  Arthur  M.  The  lead  and  zinc  bearing  rocks  of  central  Kentucky:  Bull. 
Kentucky  Geol.  Survey  No.  2,  1905. 

Priehausser.  M.  Die  Flusspatgange  der  Oberpfalz:  Zeitschr.  prakt.  Geologie, 
July,  1908,  pp.  265-269. 

Ulrich.  E.  O.,  and  Smith.  W.  S.  T.  The  lead,  zinc,  and  fluorspar  deposits  of 
western  Kentucky:  Prof.  Paper  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  No.  36,  1905. 

Watson,  Thomas  L.  Lead  and  zinc  deposits  of  Virginia:  Bull.  Virginia  Geol. 
Survey  No.  1,  1905,  p.  42. 


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